13/1/2021 Spanish PV struggling with snowfalls caused by Storm Filomena – pv magazine International

Spanish PV struggling with snowfalls

caused by Storm Filomena
While Spain is struggling with the largest snowfall since 1971, pv magazine editor
Alejandro Diego Rosell has asked two Spanish experts what the consequences of the
massive snow loads produced by Storm Filomena will be on solar installations.
According to them, some PV systems may stop working completely and component
failures may not be excluded.

JANUARY 13, 2021 ALEJANDRO DIEGO ROSELL

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL PV RESIDENTIAL PV TECHNOLOGY AND R&D SPAIN

Roof with solar panels in Madrid after the Storm Filomena.

Image: pv magazine/Alejandro Diego
From pv magazine Spain

Since January 8, approximately a third of the surface of Spain is covered in a dense, white
blanket. It is not just “four akes” or a few centimeters that will disappear in one day as on
other occasions. This time, the snow is likely to cover the country for several days, due to the
low temperatures and lack of rain.

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13/1/2021 Spanish PV struggling with snowfalls caused by Storm Filomena – pv magazine International

This storm is going to have a signi cant impact on a multitude of photovoltaic plants located in
communities like Castilla La Mancha, Madrid, Aragón and Castilla León and is, thus, raising a
crucial question: How does snow a ect PV performance?

The question is not new and there are already studies from the 1970s addressing the issue. In
general, there is consensus that performance is a ected, although it depends a lot on the
orientation angle of the panels and the type of technology used.

System failures
According to a study published in 2013 by researchers at the University of Queens, the annual
yield of crystalline solar panels in Southwest Ontario is reduced by up to 3.5% per year due to
snow compared to a scenario in the same location without snow. In the opinion of experts
dealing with this technology on a daily basis, such as Javier Asensio, CEO of Vector
Renewables, a layer of only 3 or 4 centimeters of snow can make a conventional panel stop
working completely. “If we add a cloudy sky to this, the performance is practically null or
tending to irrelevance,” Asensio said.

According to Jesús Vega, a Spanish specialist in residential photovoltaics, although only a part
of the panel is covered by snow and the rest is clean, it is usual for it to stop working
completely. While standard solar modules are prepared for a common snowfall situation, as
they usually include watertight compartments, problems can occur for various reasons. One of
these is the poor calculation and design of the structures. In Vega's opinion, if the extra weight
of the panels is added to the e ect of the wind, breaks and twisting of the structure can occur.
“It is something that we have seen with the trees of the city of Madrid – the mixture of extra
weight and wind can split the wood,” the expert said.

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The same problem is corroborated by Javier Asensio from Vector. “I have personally seen
mounting systems and trackers in the United Kingdom that have own in times of snow and
this can happen in Spain,” he said. “We believe that an independent audit of the manufacturers
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13/1/2021 Spanish PV struggling with snowfalls caused by Storm Filomena – pv magazine International

is necessary in the design of the photovoltaic structures.”

According to Jesús Vega, other components that can fail are the junction boxes and inverters
due to excessive humidity. “In principle, the inverters must be covered and should have IP65
protection,” he said. “There are installers and electricians who are unaware of the
particularities of solar and often there are problems in which water seeps into the junction
boxes that can turn into ice in these cases.” For Vega, in especially humid or tropical locations,
IP 66 even IP 67 protection would be recommended.

What technologies are more e icient in snowfall?

The bifacial module technology appears to be generating consensus within the industry
regarding its e iciency. If we add snow to the usual increase in performance due to the albedo
e ect, bifacial panels seem the optimal choice for areas with regular ice, snow or hail.
However, according to Asensio, the improvement with snow is not very noticeable if the direct
exposure surface is covered. “In the best case we are talking about a 15% performance
increase in the back layer of the modules, which in the case of snow would generate
something,” he said. “Even so, if the upper surface is not cleaned, it will still be a very low
performance.”

In any case, the snow factor seems to have little weight in the choice between bifacial and
monofacial products. “The technology is consolidating itself as mainstream and the increase in
generation in times of snow with a bifacial can be important at a speci c moment, but in the
long term it is small,” Vega concluded. “EPC contractors opt for bifacials anyway and snow is
not the decisive factor.”

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ALEJANDRO DIEGO ROSELL

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